Chelsea Avenue - by Armand Rosamilia - Terrific horror story told in a unique way

5 of 5 Stars     Review copy

Chelsea Avenue is a real location in Long Branch, New Jersey.  The Murphy's Law Club was a real place.  On July 8th, 1987, the famous Haunted House on the pier in Long Branch did, indeed, burn down.  The rest of this well-imagined story comes from the demented mind of Armand Rosamilia.

I really wanted to like this new book from Armand.  First, I set out wanting to love every book I read.  Second, this is Armand's first book with Ragnarok Publications, a small press that's doing big things in the horror and fantasy genres and I wanted it to be a success for author and press.  And lastly, Armand is one of the good guys.  What he managed to do, this year, with the project Authors Supporting Our Troops was truly an inspiration.  Check it out on Facebook at...

https://www.facebook.com/events/647179418679623/?source=1

I'm glad to say, Chelsea Avenue, did more than live up to my expectations.  For the most part, the story is told over a 15 year period, beginning with the events which took place on July 8th, 1987 and then on each subsequent July, 8th, until the climatic events of July 8th, 2003.

We get to witness what happens each year on the anniversary of the fire that destroyed Murphy's Law in 1987, as more and more of those who survived the original fire are mysteriously drawn back to the lot where the club once stood, only meet their doom.

Manny Santiago's parents owned the club and we get to see Manny go from being a teen, lucky to survive the fire, to his life as a cop, then detective, get married, get shot, divorced and live to be one of the final survivors of the original event.

Rosamilia does a very nice job with the telling of each year's story, he pulls no punches, and provides some nice twists along the way.

At first, I was a bit put off with only getting the events of each July 8th, but I got used to the idea quickly and it became one of the most enjoyable aspects of the book.

Chelsea Avenue, is available now for pre-order at Amazon.com and will be released on September 8th, 2014 from Ragnarok Publications.

Highly recommended.